News & Views |
Featured
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Measure for Measure |
The earth-shaking discovery of magnitude
The coexistence of qualitative and quantitative scales characterizes advances in earthquake measurements. Although often confused, intensity and magnitude refer to very different things, as Leonardo Benini explains.
- Leonardo Benini
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Measure for Measure |
The heat of the moment
To celebrate the International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development, James Gallagher tells the story of the British thermal unit, a unit for heat.
- James Gallagher
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Measure for Measure |
The slightness of gravimetry
Michel Van Camp and Olivier de Viron are attracted to the fluctuations in the Earth's gravitational pull.
- Michel Van Camp
- & Olivier de Viron
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Editorial |
Powerful physics
Although driven by the promise of almost limitless energy, fusion research touches on plenty of gripping, fundamental physics â and the wider scientific community has every reason to be supportive.
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News & Views |
Let it slip
Friction involves a complex set of phenomena spanning a large range of length scales, but experiments assessing the evolution of the slip-front between two dry sliding bodies now reveal that slip can be reasonably well described by linear fracture mechanics theory.
- Robert W. Carpick
- & Roland Bennewitz
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News & Views |
Where did all the electrons go?
Geomagnetic storms driven by the solar wind can cause the flux of high-energy electrons in the Earth's Van Allen belts to rapidly fall. Analysis of data obtained during one such event from multiple spacecraft located at different altitudes in the magnetosphere reveals just where these electrons go.
- Mary K. Hudson
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Letter |
Explaining sudden losses of outer radiation belt electrons during geomagnetic storms
Geomagnetic storms driven by the solar wind can cause a dramatic drop in the flux of high-energy electrons in the Earthâs outer Van Allen belt. Analysis of data obtained during such an event by three different sets of spacecraft suggests that these electrons are directed into space rather than lost to the atmosphere.
- Drew L. Turner
- , Yuri Shprits
- & Vassilis Angelopoulos